Swamigp’s Weblog

Tony Parker scored 32 points and Manu Ginobili chipped in 29 as Spurs take advantage of abysmal third quarter by Suns to pull out a 102-96 victory. San Antonio was down 61-54 at half-time, but bounced Phoenix in the third period, outscoring them 27-11 to grab a 81-72 lead heading into the 4th. The Suns, who dominated the first half behind 25 points in the first two quarters by Amare Stoudemire, went scoreless for the first 6 1/2 minutes of the third, losing all of what was a 14 point lead early in the game. San Antonio went on a 17-2 run, starting in the closing minutes of the first half, to get control of the momentum that would carry them to a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven first round series. Tim Duncan didn’t have to take the brunt of the scoring load in this game, after his 40-point performance in game 1, but he did have a great all around game, scoring 18 points, snatching 17 rebounds, dishing 4 assists and blocking 3 shots. After the Spurs big three, Parker, Duncan and Ginoboli, scored all but 3 of San Antonio’s points in the first half, the supporting cast showed up in the second half in a big way. Michael Finley hit three jumpers in a row, on three identical plays (him rolling off screens for an open look) to keep the momentum on the Spurs side. He finished with 8 points, but they were all pivotal in his teams’ comeback.

Amare Stoudemire finished with 33 points, but scored only 8 points in the second half, going from being aggressive throughout the first half, to shooting bricks from the outside in the second. His ineffectiveness as well as Boris Diaw’s, (who was fed multiple times in the 3rd and 4th quarters but came up empty) gave the Spurs extra possessions, particularly in the 3rd, resulting in San Antonio widening the margin. Shaquille O’Neal had a very good game, scoring 19 points to go with 14 rebounds, and played a huge role in the first half by staying on the floor, and out of foul trouble.

Chris Paul had another masterful performance (an MVP type performance), scoring 32 points, dishing 17 assists, 10 by half-time, grabbed 5 rebounds and committed only 3 turnovers to lead his New Orleans team to another impressive win over the Dallas Mavericks, demolishing them 127-103. Nothing new for Paul, as he controlled the tempo, got all of his teammates involved, and put in his scoring input in a pretty easy win for the Hornets. They took a ten point lead after one quarter, starting strong right out of the gate to score 39 points in the first 12 minutes. They kept up the pace in the second period, resulting in a sixteen point half-time lead. David West scored 27 points, and Peja Stojakovic added 22 points, including 5 threes in a great supporting effort by the obviously better team.

Dirk Nowitzki lead Dallas with 27 points and Brandon Bass and Jason Terry played terrific off the bench scoring 19 and 16 respectively. Dallas has just run into the better team in New Orleans, without the ability to contain any of the Hornets players, including Paul.